U.S. Household Debt Grows for 17th Straight Quarter

​The week ending November 17 revealed Consumer Price Index data that surpassed the Fed’s 12-month 2% inflation target. Also, the Treasury Department says that the Government recorded a $100.5 billion deficit in October 2018, a 60% increase from a year before. Lastly, the New York Federal Reserve reported that U.S. household debt rose to $13.51 trillion, the 17th consecutive quarter of increasing household debt.

• The Labor Department says the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.3% in October, its largest gain in nine months, after only rising 0.1% the month before. For the trailing twelve months, the CPI has grown 2.5%, well over the Fed’s 2% target and will keep the Fed on track for continued interest rate hikes next month. However, for the last twelve months, core inflation – the CPI excluding food and energy components – climbed 2.1%.

• The Treasury Department says that the U.S. Government recorded a $100.5-billion budget deficit, or a 60% increase since October 2017. In the first month of the U.S. fiscal calendar, the government received $252.7 billion while spending $353.2 billion. The ballooning deficit is being fueled by the recent tax cuts that reduced receipts as well as increased spending spurred by an aging population.
  

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• According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, U.S. household debt continued to rise in the third quarter. In the quarter, household debt rose to $13.51 trillion, 20% above the $8.38-billion trough it fell to in 2013. Mortgage balances stood at $9.1 trillion at the end of September, with auto loans, student loans, and credit card balances driving the increase in household debt. It is the 17th consecutive quarter that household debt has increased.